ProjectLacey

Sup everyone,
So I have a '09 4.0 v6, and a few months ago I'd started noticing a strange knocking while idling or braking after the engine'd heated up, as well as a check oil filter, which I knew was strange as I'd just had the oil changed about 200 miles prior.
So I took it to a auto shop to have it diagnosed, and I was told it was a timing error with the engine timing chain, and that it was quite expensive to fix, because either the engine would have to be taken apart to replace the chain or I'd simply have to get an entirely new engine.
However, I recently started looking deeper into it and read about a "known" issue with Fords and the Camshaft phaser basically getting banged or bent up, and that a part of the phaser was causing the knocking I heard, and was maybe a $1,000 fix depending on where you go.

I don't know too much about the inner workings of a car, so if there's anyone who has any knowledge on this issue, care to explain? I don't know which is the "true" issue, whether they're related, etc. The mechanic I went to told me nothing about a cam phaser, and the things I read about the cam phaser said nothing about timing chain issues. Is this the same issue? Does one lead to the other? How could I go about getting this fixed?
Thanks in advance!